Saturday, June 27, 2009

Alison Johnson lists some foods and drinks to avoid if you're trying to deflate your tummy.

Extra fluid and gas can puff up even the fittest among us. Beyond eating right and exercising, here are some foods and drinks to avoid if you're trying to deflate your tummy:

Salty foods. Water molecules are attracted to sodium, so you'll retain more fluids if you pour on the seasoning or eat lots of processed foods.

Certain produce. Broccoli, cabbage, citrus fruits, onions and peppers are top examples of healthy foods that contain difficult-to-digest sugars, which can cause gas. Even if you're susceptible, though, don't stop eating them; try limiting servings to a half cup at a time. Cooking raw veggies also can help.

Soda. Not surprisingly, the carbonation in soft drinks can cause bloat. Alcohol, coffee and some fruit juices also can cause intestinal irritation and swelling, so stick mainly to water and unsweetened teas that will help your body flush out waste products. Read more

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Brushing and flossing is not only good for your teeth and gums, but also for your heart and mind.

Brushing and flossing your teeth daily does more than help prevent cavities, periodontal (gum) disease and bad breath. According to the American Academy of Periodontology, having healthy teeth and gums also lowers your risk of heart disease and stroke. And now researchers at West Virginia University have found a clean mouth may also do something else -- prevent memory loss. Read more

Monday, June 22, 2009

Can sugar give you wrinkles? It seems that it can because high blood sugar levels react with collagen in the skin - in a bad way.

... Some skin experts believe that sugar is one of the worst culprits when it comes to ageing. The top part of our skin, the epidermis, is made up of four to five layers of cells, the outermost two of which are flattened and dead, and below it is a hive of activity packed with arteries, veins, lymph vessels and nerve fibres, oil-producing glands, sweat glands and two protein structures known as collagen and elastin, which act a bit like a body stocking, holding the skin together.

Collagen consists of bundles of interlacing protein fibres, which tend to run lengthways in the skin of the face and neck. White in colour, collagen has a great ability to absorb shock, giving the skin strength, resilience and firmness.

The view is that when blood-sugar levels are high — eg, when you have just eaten those mid-morning biscuits — a process called “glycation” takes place in the skin, which involves the blood sugar binding to the collagen fibres, making them harden. Read more

Friday, June 19, 2009

Garlic isn't just for high blood pressure. It can also ease the pain of earaches.

An earache is an awful thing to experience. Everyone has experienced one at some time of his/her life. It was probably an event so traumatic, that s/he is bound to remember. An earache can be caused by a number of things. These could include infections, allergies, or even situations with your teeth. Although much more common in children, the many adults that have experienced an earache, say it was the worst pain they have ever experienced. While looking for natural remedies to help ease the pain naturally, consider these.

Use garlic. Garlic has been known to help a painful earache. Read more

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Two years ago, Chuck Jones of Yardley had high cholesterol, but his medicine caused severe leg cramps that routinely ruined his sleep.

Since participating in a clinical trial of red yeast rice, a supplement taken in China for centuries, Jones has gotten his cholesterol under control.

And within a week of starting the rice, "the pain was gone," the 59-year-old chemist said.

For Jones and most other "statin-intolerant" patients, red yeast rice combined with a heart-healthy diet and exercise helped lower bad "LDL" cholesterol, concludes a small study published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Read more

Monday, June 15, 2009

An older gentleman tells The People's Pharmacy how he spiced up his sex life with cinnamon and ginko biloba.

You recently ran a letter from a fellow who was disappointed in the herbal sex pills he bought. I, too, am an older gentleman who has faced challenges in the virility department. I'd tried maca, horny goat weed and other herbs with few real, sustained results.

I also had started putting cinnamon on my cereal to help lower my high cholesterol. I noticed on days that I ate this breakfast I was much more likely to be successful than on days that I didn't.

Then a lady friend of mine suggested Ginkgo biloba. I'd never heard of using ginkgo for male potency before, but let me tell you the difference for me has been significant and sustained. It now is easier to get and maintain a state of readiness than it has been for years. I can be ready again in 20 minutes as opposed to 24 hours. I take one tablet after breakfast and one after dinner, so spontaneity is no problem. I hope this helps other readers as much as it has helped me.Read more

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Want more energy, better sleep, and a clearer mind? It may be time to clean your organs, says Margaret Durst.

Cleansing the body periodically is one of the tenets of natural health. The purpose of cleansing is to assist the body in eliminating harmful toxins which helps the body run more effectively and efficiently which translates to better health. As adults, 80% of our energy goes towards eliminating byproducts of normal metabolism from our bodies. Our bodies are actually very good at eliminating things that we don’t need; however, our modern diets with lots of refined and processed foods tend overwhelm our bodies and clog not just our arteries, but our livers, colons, lymph system and kidneys as well.

From a naturopathic perspective, most problems with health arise either from deficiency or congestion. Congestion involves both overconsumption and reduced eliminative function. Many of our acute and chronic diseases result from clogged tissues, suffocated cells, and subsequent loss of vital energy. Frequent colds and flus, cardiovascular disease, arthritis and allergies are all consequences of congestive disorders. Read more

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Even a natural remedies guru can come down with swine flu. Sara Altshul's experience is a reminder that natural remedies don't work for everyone all the time - though they're safer and less expensive than pharmaceuticals when they don't.

When I wrote about ways to prevent the H1N1 flu virus last month, I never suspected I might actually catch the bug myself. I’m healthy, and I’m committed to my three-times-a-week gym workouts; plus, I eat well, and I take vitamins. So when, a few days ago, I started feeling flu-ish, I was pretty surprised.

Immediately, I took regular doses of echinacea, a known antiviral herb, and Sambucol, a black elderberry extract that’s been proven to kill 10 different strains of flu virus (though I don’t know whether H1N1 is one of them). I did not, however, order the two different Chinese herbs recommended by Martha Howard, MD, the director of Wellness Associates of Chicago, Center for Advanced Integrative Environmental Medicine, that I wrote about in my flu blog.swin-flu-remediesIstockphoto

I was pretty disappointed when neither the echinacea nor the black elderberry staved off my symptoms, which came on with a bang: fever of 103, pounding headache—in fact, my entire body aches, a dramatic cough, no appetite, and extreme fatigue. Read more

Monday, June 8, 2009

Master Tonic, which contains garlic, horseradish, ginger, cayenne peppers, and onion in an apple cider vinegar base. fixes colds, flu, and respiratory problems. It's also an immune booster, anti-allergy, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti anything that can hurt you. Even though "HealthyHerbalist" took the formula from either Dr. Richard Schulze or Sam Biser (see formula on Biser's website) without acknowledgement, the directions for making it are good.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

The function of fat is to protect your body, but when our body is overloaded with “stuff” it can’t handle, it must put it somewhere, so it stores it as fat. Margaret Durst says there are a couple of diets that deal with detoxifying the body while stopping the onslaught of new “stuff," and they can really melt that toxic fat right off your body.

Fat – that horrible stuff that hangs in all the wrong places on your body. I’m not even sure that there is a “right” place for the stuff. Americans in general have been getting fat for some time and it seems to have gotten worse lately. Why?

The function of fat on the body is to protect us. We need it for padding, but it also functions like a pocket or purse. Our bodies get overloaded with the wrong kinds of food, with toxins from the chemicals that are used to process our food and from environmental toxins such as cleaning products, pesticides and synthetic fragrances.

When our body is overloaded with “stuff” it can’t handle, it must put it somewhere – so it stores it as fat. The body means to come back and deal with the “stuff” later, but we feed it more bad food and chemicals and so it never catches up, but continues to stash the “stuff”.

Most people with excess body fat are very toxic and tend to have congested or sluggish livers. The liver is one of our major organs of detoxification. When it gets overwhelmed, our metabolism gets slow, we gain more weight and we have difficulty losing weight.

The good news is that there are a couple of diets that deal with detoxifying the body while stopping the onslaught of new “stuff”. These can really melt that toxic fat right off your body. Read more

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Changes in your diet and and exercise could prevent 25 percent of cancer, according to a new report.

Nearly a quarter of cancers could be prevented by simple changes in diet and exercise, including up to 70 percent of cases of certain varieties, according to a report issued by the World Cancer Research Fund.

"The evidence linking diet, physical activity, obesity and cancer has become stronger over the last decade and this report can play a part in people adopting healthier lifestyles," said Mike Richards, the United Kingdom's National Clinical Director for Cancer. "After not smoking, it is clear that diet and weight are the most important things people can do to reduce their risk." Read more

About Me

I am originally from Chicago but moved to sunny Florida after
graduating from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a degree in
physical therapy. I am also an herbalist and Reiki Master. I work as a physical therapist.